Administrative and Legal Framework for the Activities of the Security Service of Ukraine

Abstract

The article is devoted to the analysis of the administrative and legal basis of the activities of the Security Service of Ukraine (hereinafter referred to as the SSU) in the context of contemporary national security challenges. The relevance of the topic is due to the growing threats to national security, the need to improve the mechanisms of legal regulation of the SSU's activities, the need to improve the legal basis for the functioning of the SSU in conditions of martial law and rapid changes in the field of national security, as well as the importance of maintaining a balance between the protection of state interests and the rights of citizens.

The authors have studied the administrative and legal foundations of the SSU's activities as a special-purpose state body with law enforcement functions, whose activities are aimed at protecting state sovereignty, the constitutional order, territorial integrity, scientific, technical and defence potential of Ukraine, the legitimate interests of the state and the rights of citizens from intelligence and subversive activities of foreign special services, encroachments by individual organisations, groups and individuals, as well as ensuring the protection of state secrets. 

The main focus is on analysing the organisational and structural principles of the SSU's functioning, its powers in the field of counterintelligence, combating terrorism, protecting state secrets, and ensuring economic and information security. Emphasis is placed on  issues of human rights protection in the exercise of the SSU's powers and interaction with state structures in countering hybrid threats. The article examines the organisational and legal structure of the SSU, its functions, legal mechanisms for interaction with other law enforcement agencies and state authorities, as well as certain aspects of the reform of the SSU.